Living Well With Fibromyalgia

A good quality of life and wellbeing … Who doesn’t want that?

Living well – despite pain – may seem a contradiction in terms, but it truly is possible, and the how is within reach. Nobody chooses to have fibromyalgia, but the manner in which you live with the condition is a choice. We can be amazed when we learn that chronic pain and disability sufferers are motivational speakers, informing others how to have a great life. Australia’s tennis star, Dylan Alcott is such a person.

He says he loves nothing better than ‘busting disability myths’. As far as we know, he doesn’t have fibromyalgia, but he is certainly an expert in dealing with a ongoing condition.

Is pain a disability?

Perhaps we don’t usually think of chronic pain as a disability, but if we unpack that word disability, it simply means a condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. It is fair to say then, that fibromyalgia can certainly feel like a disability at times, with life a bit like a roller-coaster, and for some, it may be true for most or all of the time.

After winning four grand slams – known as the Gold Slam – Dylan said, ‘Thanks for making the dreams of a young fat disabled kid with a really bad haircut come true.’

Actually, there’s something wrong with that statement. Dylan had no-one to thank but himself. At some point in his life, he asked himself certain questions. The answers that came to him were deeply rooted in his values and his mindset, and created a pathway to achieving dreams that he previously thought were impossible. He says he now laughs at the notion of can’t and too hard. Instead, he thinks in terms of how to make possible something that is seemingly impossible, and how to rethink his objectives.

How do we shift our mindset?

Okay, it’s easy to say …adjust your mindset, and dig into your values, know yourself… all nice sentiments, but how? Sometimes we need others to point us in the direction of who we actually are; how to tap into our values; how to fine-tune our coping mechanisms for an outstanding outcome.

The therapists and clinical advisers at MoreGoodDays® have the skills to help you adjust your pain threshold and other fibro symptoms. You might ultimately find that with the proper knowledge and guidance, you are happier than you were before you developed fibromyalgia.

If you’ve tuned into Dylan on his radio programs, you’ll know he has an acute and sometimes saucy wit. His advice to young disabled people is: ‘The biggest thing is that for every one thing you can’t do, there are 10,000 others you can. For every one idiot to give you a hard time, there are 10,000 others worth your time’.

With professional support, it is absolutely possible to locate the multitude of things you’re good at and even to change a negative outlook on life to something that your family and friends might consider transformative. You will learn that relaxing rather than stressing when you feel pain can dial down the pain almost immediately. You can learn how to adapt, if necessary, to achieving and sustaining a positive and happy life, filled with joy, laughter and fun.

Reframing thoughts is a technical term psychologists use in cognitive behavior therapy, to subtly adjust unhelpful responses for positive responses and a positive outcome.

Using a step-by-step approach, the aim of reframing is to change how a person experiences things, in order to produce a different emotional response, which can greatly affect how pain actually feels. You will learn that feeling pain is not a sign of failure. Once learned, reframing is a fabulous tool to have in your wellbeing toolkit – it can be honed, sharpened and kept shiny with regular use.

Mindset is a potent mental attitude with superpowers. When you learn how to adjust your mindset, you should find your fibromyalgia symptoms will soften and cool, and at times, be so minimal that you will barely notice them. ‘Oh yes, there you are. Hop off now, I have things to do.’